Meet Julie Woertz of We Cre8 Design in Streeterville

Julie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? In 2001, I started a design agency, Duotone Design, with my best friend. We were located in Bucktown for 5 years and West Loop for 6. We had a ton of Chicago-based companies, museums, restaurants, retail, you name it! When the economy crashed, we lost a lot of our main core clients (marketing budget always goes first) which is where the end of Duotone Design began. In 2012, we dissolved the business and I started We Cre8 Design. I have always loved owning my one business which is why I couldn’t go back to corporate America. My personality is vibrant and my style is urban so when designing my logo and web site, I added my personal taste into all of it. Hot pink is the main color besides black and white. I was a bit scared that it may be too flashy and would scare off potential (corporate) clients but that was never the case. If anything, Chicago was looking for a design agency who designed “outside the box” and brought a flair to the A-typical, cookie cutter logo, print marketing materials and web sites. This summer, we are celebrating 5 years in business and have topped off at 150 clients! Design is my passion and literally live, breathe and eat it!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you? My first business was difficult when finding clients but not with my current business, We Cre8 Design. The world is changing and there are so many new, innovative entrepreneurs out there who have a product or business idea and need everything that entails design from the beginning to the end (logo, print, packaging & web design).

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the We Cre8 Design story. Tell us more about the business. We specialize in 8 core services – Logo Design + Branding, Graphic + Print Design, Packaging Design + Packaging Printing and Web Site Design + Development. Being able to offer these 8 design services helps new businesses find their one-stop shop. We can take a business in the very beginning stages and bring their overall brand to a new and cohesive level. Nothing makes us happier than to watch a business grow and blossom with the help of our design services.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business? After owning one business, I was terrified of opening a second. I jumped in full force and never looked back. The fact that we have over 150 clients in 5 years is miraculous in my opinion!

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Local StoriesSeptember 17, 2018

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